Bookmakers: Protecting Your Privacy Part 1

What should be of obvious importance to anyone who intends to run their own Sportsbook is the need to protect the privacy of your players and yourself. It goes without saying that if you have clients such as Lawyers, Law Enforcement or those who are prominent public figures, they would not want the fact that they enjoy betting on Sports to become common knowledge.

Few critics would bat an eye if someone were to take a trip to Vegas or Atlantic City because that is considered acceptable adult entertainment fully sanctioned by main stream society. However, there is a stigma that can get attached to someone who deals with a local bookie. That somehow betting on sports is okay if you’re on vacation in Vegas but to do it with a local Bookie is not. Whatever prejudice some people hold against gamblers and gambling you need to take appropriate steps to protect both you and your players from unwanted exposure.

The first and best thing that a Sportsbook owner can do to accomplish this is to set up an account with an offshore pay per head service. This alone removes many of the elements that are necessary to run an operational book out of your back yard. All gambling now happens under jurisdictions like Costa Rica where betting on sports is legal and a strong industry with full technological infrastructure that has been built up over decades. Your data is stored and protected on secure servers and you are not required to give any personal details or report activities or income to any officials.

So let’s say that you have already done that and enjoy the many advantages that using a PPH service provides. By now everyone has heard about the massive data gathering that is being perpetuated by secretive organizations around the world. NSA, FBI and now even local police forces are being given access to data intercepting technology that every professional Bookmaker should be aware of.

Although it may be true that the US government is spying on everyone it is important to remember what a massive undertaking that really is. Not only do they claim to be gathering unfathomable amounts of data but they then have to sort through it and prioritize what merits their further attention. Bookmaking in most US states ranks right near the bottom in terms of them taking any action. Unless you are flagrantly breaking the law or running millions of dollars through your operation you are probably not worth the headache of prosecution.

However, failure to prepare is preparing to fail and by taking a few simple precautions to safe guard your data and communications you can effectively run your business without any major concerns. In Part 2 we will discuss a full range of security precautions that you can take in order to further insulate yourself from any prying eyes.